Hi,in a tutorial the guy says make sure bass level is AVERAGING about -20 dB.
in cubase 14 pro on channel window how can i check average level?
On the right zone meter(master tab) is it the RMS Ma?

 

Open the mixer and see if the faders are hitting -20dbfs. This is only a guideline, though, some people will go as high as -12dbfs as long as the signal is not clipping.

Edit: to be clear, the fader metering, not the fader position.

 

That must be -20dB RMS, could peak up to about -12dBfs depending on how much you compress it. It's a good value so you never have to worry about the headroom and mix in peace.

 

Yeah, you're on the right track - in Cubase Pro 14, the RMS value in the right zone meter (Master tab) shows the average level. If it says "RMS Max" or "RMS," that’s what you want to look at for the average loudness over time.

 

Actually there is no fixed value on the input volume: the digital recording volume has its limit in the bitrate used by the audio interface: 16bit has 96db max, 24bit has 144db. Depending on the bitrate, a different clipping value corresponds.
Technology is running: at the beginning we recorded in 12bit, then in 16bit and in 24bit: we now have the 32bit floating point technology coming and this means having 1528db on input: this value exceeds any real-world sound pressure variations. In simple words, this is the end of clipping during recording.
At the moment, 32bit is mainly used on movie sets, when there can be drastic variations on the sound pressure (imagine a dialog and then a jet passing by). From what I know, there are a couple of brands that already produce field recording devices in native 32bit: Zoom and Tascam. There is an audio interface from Zoom, dedicated specifically to the 32bit recording studio, but I have not had the pleasure of testing it.
The future is obviously in 32bit floating point
https://www.zoom-europe.com/en/audio-interfaces/zoom-uac-232-c

 

Last edited: Jun 8, 2025 at 9:34 PM

There is no "formula" for this - it's way too subjective. Does it sound balanced? If not, then you need to act accordingly, and not adhere to some kind of "method" for setting levels. If you do, it's guaranteed your mix will come out sounding messy.

 

I have had one of these for a couple of years now. They are little audio recording powerhouses. I walk around with that audio pack, cans, and a mic and I hardly even know I'm carrying anything. I have used it for field audio for video (it does SMPTE directly) and for audio sample gathering. The audio inputs on those are clean enough to use in studio as a recording interface and you are correct - it will record up to 96Khz in full 32bit. I have never gotten back and had a recording that was unusable from that device.